Moniker Art Fair 2018 Launch

Cybersecurity giants, Kaspersky Lab drive the forty-year-old art car concept forward into the 21st century with collaboration between British street artist and the Virgin Racing Formula E Team.

London – Thursday 27th September 2018 – Ahead of the launch of next week’s Moniker Art Fair, Kaspersky Lab and Dean Stockton, better known by his alias D*Face, have unveiled the first-ever Formula E art car, in East London.

As a fervent supporter of the arts and motor sport, Kaspersky Lab is presenting its own unique take on the art car concept, made famous in the 1970s.

Kaspersky Lab wanted to breathe new life into the high-end hot rod art car concept, by selecting a new set of wheels to work with and, giving an accessible, urban artist free range to do what he wants with it. The result is D*Face imprinting his bright, bold and colourful artistic trademarks on the Virgin Racing Formula E car; signalling the first Formula E art car ever made.

The car, emblazoned with ‘Save the World’, features several of D*Face’s iconic wings and acts as a vehicle to illustrate a powerful message – that art can empower people to make a change.

The London-born artist hopes that his work will force viewers to consider the notion that they have the power to be a super hero, stating:

“Does everyone have a good and bad element to them, and how much does the bad outweigh the good? In times like now, we all need to take on the mantra of the super hero and help Save the World. It is time for all of us to stand together and make a change. Be that stopping data steals, addressing climate change and plastic waste or using damaging fuels. We all have the power to do one thing that will help make a change.

“It has been exciting to work with Kaspersky Lab on this project and create art with a real message of hope for a brighter future. This is, after all, our world and we need to look after it. It will take every one of us to make a real lasting, impactful change.”

The medium is also the message, as although Formula E is in principle a sport, its raison d’être is to creatively tackle the issue of climate change and accelerate technological developments in the world of e-mobility.

The art car is one of two new collaborations between the artist and the security firm that will be on display in East London in the coming weeks. As well as the car, the artist’s design for the limited-edition boxes of Kaspersky’s Total Security v.2019 product will also be on show at the fair from 4th – 7th October.

The art car, unveiled today by British street artist D*Face, is the first time a global audience will be able to see it up close, following its announcement after the final race of the Formula E season in July.

The car and Total Security v.2019 collaboration is the latest in a series of artworks celebrating the ‘Save the World’ concept. The artist created a large-scale mural in New York and designed ‘art helmets’ for Virgin Racing drivers Sam Bird and Alex Lynn at the season finale in New York.

Kaspersky Lab are fast becoming one of the biggest corporate supporters of the urban art scene, following its work with Ben Eine last year and, its ongoing commitment to contemporary art, creativity and innovation as the lead sponsor of Moniker Art Fair globally.

Tina Ziegler, Moniker Art Fair Director said:

“Kaspersky’s support has been vital to Moniker as the fair has grown – thanks to their help, we’ve been able to take risks and increase the scope and ambition of our events, most notably our recent debut in NYC this year as we entered the US market. Our D*Face collaboration is a perfect example of the level of creativity that Kaspersky’s unique relationship with Moniker produces each year.”

“We are proud to be leading the pack in driving innovation on a global scale, both in cybersecurity, but also, contemporary art and future-proof sport like Formula E. Dean (D*Face) is a brilliant artist who we have admired for a long time and continues our tradition of working with the best in urban art.

“This is a world-first that we are extremely proud of, not only to stand out from the norm, but also to create compelling art with a purpose. The colourful artwork in Dean’s creation cleverly merges our tagline ‘A Company To Save The World’ with a message for all of us to unleash the creativity and super hero laden in us all to help make this world a safer and better place. Be that just purchasing our limited-edition D*Face Total Security v.2019 product or making a stand for the many issues affecting this planet.”